Cam-Guided Boat Lifting Arm for Water Scooter Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lifting arrangements for small floating units like water scooters on leisure boats are inadequate due to their inability to handle the weight and size of these units safely, often resulting in damage to the boat's railing and hull during retrieval and launch, and require excessive force for operation.
Innovation Solution
A compact, robust lifting arrangement featuring a pivoting lifting arm system supported by a frame with a piston and cylinder unit, allowing for horizontal and vertical displacement, and a cam-guided mechanism that reduces the effort required for lifting and stowing heavy floating units, ensuring safe and stable operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional davit with crane-like arms is used, then the structure is simple, but it cannot safely handle heavy floating units like water scooters and causes damage to the boat's railing and hull
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting arrangement is divided into multiple functional components: a pivoting lifting arm, a support frame, a piston-cylinder unit, and a cam mechanism. Each component performs a specific function, allowing the system to handle heavy loads safely while preventing damage to the boat's railing and hull through controlled movement and positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The cam mechanism acts as an intermediary between the piston-cylinder unit and the lifting arm, converting linear motion into controlled rotational motion. This intermediary mechanism ensures smooth, controlled lifting that prevents sudden movements that could damage the railing or hull, while also reducing the force required from the operator.
2Volume of moving object
If a lifting arrangement is designed to be robust and compact, then it occupies less space on the boat, but it must still be able to lift and manage heavy objects like water scooters
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting arm is designed to fold or nest against the support frame when not in use, minimizing the space occupied on the boat. During operation, the lifting arm extends to provide the necessary lifting capacity for heavy objects like water scooters. This nested design allows the system to maintain both compact storage and heavy-load capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The lifting arm is designed to pivot dynamically between stored and operational positions, allowing it to transition from a compact configuration during storage to an extended configuration during lifting operations. This dynamic design enables the system to occupy minimal space when not in use while providing sufficient lifting capacity when needed.
3Ease of operation
If the lifting arrangement uses a piston and cylinder unit with cam mechanism, then the physical effort required for lifting is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The manual mechanical lifting system is replaced with a piston-cylinder unit that uses hydraulic or pneumatic principles to provide the lifting force. This substitution dramatically reduces the physical effort required from the operator, as the fluid pressure in the cylinder generates the necessary force to lift heavy objects like water scooters.
Solution Approach 2:
The cam mechanism serves as an intermediary that converts the linear motion from the piston-cylinder unit into controlled rotational motion of the lifting arm. This intermediary mechanism, while adding some structural complexity, enables smooth and controlled lifting operations that are easier to operate than direct mechanical linkages.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If the lifting arm pivots far out from the side of the boat, then damage to the rail and hull is avoided, but the lifting arrangement requires more space and structural support
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting arm is designed to pivot in a vertical plane while also extending horizontally, creating a two-dimensional movement path that allows the floating unit to be lifted clear of the boat's railing and hull. This dimensional approach enables the lifting arm to operate far enough from the boat's side to prevent damage while maintaining a compact overall structure through efficient use of vertical and horizontal space.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the safe and effortless handling of heavy floating units like water scooters, preventing damage to the boat and reducing the physical effort needed for lifting, while maintaining a compact design suitable for limited boat spaces and ensuring secure storage even in rough seas.
Implementation Method 1
a piston and cylinder unit (13) arranged between the lever (10) and the frame (6) for pivoting the lever (10) in a vertical plane
Implementation Method 2
a cam-guided mechanism that reduces the effort required for lifting and stowing heavy floating units
Implementation Method 3
a cam-guided mechanism that reduces the effort required for lifting
Data Source
AI summary
The invention concern a lifting arrangement, intended for the launch, retrieval and storage of small floating units on a boat, by carrying out at the same time a pivoting and a translational motion in a forwards or in a backwards direction. For easy and safe handling a floating unit at a leisure boat, it comprises a frame (6) intended to be fixed attached to the boat, a link arm system (5) including a lever (10), which through a joint (17) allows pivoting and through the influence of a control and actuator means (13), carry out a tipping action forwards and backwards, an angled lifting arm (12) with a first (12′) and a second (12″) shank, whereby the lifting arm (12) is guided during the tipping motion through interaction between a guide (20) that protrudes from the frame and a guide surface formed as a cam curve (21) formed from a downwardly facing surface of the lifting arm.